Net income for the period ended Oct. 31 climbed to C$1.09
billion ($1.09 billion), or C$1 a share, from C$902 million, or
83 cents, a year earlier, the Toronto-based bank said today in a
statement. It was the fifth straight profit increase for the
bank.

Scotiabank joins Toronto-Dominion Bank, National Bank of
Canada and other lenders this quarter that lowered provisions
for bad loans as consumer credit quality improves. The bank said
aside C$254 million for loan-loss provisions, a 39 percent
decline from a year ago.

“I look at Scotia as a nice, reasonable balance of risk
and reward,” Craig Fehr, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co., said
before results were released. “Their business model carries an
above average risk, given the geographies they operate in, but
they’re good at it.”

Before one-time items, Scotiabank earned C$1.02 a share.
That beat the C$1-a-share average estimate of 14 analysts
surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Scotiabank fell 25 cents to C$53.97 in trading yesterday on
the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares have climbed 9.7 percent
this year, compared with a 7.5 percent gain on the 10-member
S&P/TSX Banks Index.

(Scotiabank will hold a conference call at 2 p.m. Toronto time.
To listen, dial +1-800-814-4860 five to 15 minutes in advance,
or visit www.scotiabank.com on the Internet.)